Learning English in an Arabic context: a study of first-year Libyan university students' challenges in the learning of English.
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Date
2022
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Abstract
This study sought to identify the challenges that lecturers and students faced in developing
English language communicative competence for academic purposes at a university within the
College of Humanities situated in Zliten city in the north of Libya.
This research canvassed students’ and lecturers’ experiences and perceptions in the teaching and
learning of academic English in a foreign language context. Within a case study approach, a
convergent mixed methods research design was used. Data was collected through qualitative and
quantitative methods in an interpretative paradigm. The study employed three data generation
methods, a semi-structured interview, focus group discussion, and questionnaires.
The findings suggest that the qualitative and quantitative findings in this study can be classified
into four categories of EFL Libyan learning challenges namely: linguistic, cultural, institutional,
and structural challenges. Linguistic challenges are those related to language issues confronted
by both lecturers and students. Most participants (lecturers and students) agreed that Arabic and
English are linguistically dissimilar. They are unable to comprehend academic literature in the
English language because of the phonological differences between Arabic and English. It is
considered the most common linguistic challenge with respect to student anxiety and inadequacy
regarding the attainment of academic English proficiency. The cultural challenge manifests as a
dissonance between students’ cultural predilections and the decoding required for meaning
making in English as a foreign language. A cultural insistence and expectation for Arabic
hegemonic communication exacerbates the development of communicative competence in the
target language. Institutional challenges are described as the general position of higher education
in Libya, and the problems students encounter when joining this education system. The effect of
insular politics also negatively impacts effective institutional operations. Finally, structural
challenges were related to the overall teaching program coherence. This included the lack of
appropriate curriculum design standards and poorly designed policies of English language
teaching and learning. The study concludes by making suggestions to improve communicative
competence in the target language at the research site.
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.